The company "Bemax" paid Aleksandar Mijajlović 17 million euros in the period from January 28 to March 2023, 1,5 for the transfer of shares, the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) stated as part of the investigation against Mijajlović and several other individuals on suspicion of cigarette smuggling, the Social Justice Agency (ASP) said.
"In the period from 26.06.2023 to 18.09.2023, 1,23 million euros were paid to the account at Crnogorska Komercijalna Banka as a dividend distribution in 'Easy Drive' from Podgorica. In addition, in the period after 25.09.2023, 2,44 million euros were paid to the defendant Aleksandar Mijajlović as a dividend distribution in that legal entity," the SDT indicated, according to the allegations of that non-governmental organization (NGO).
The ASP recalled that in February last year, the SDT launched an investigation against Mijajlović for the criminal offense of creating a criminal organization and the criminal offense of smuggling in an extended period, and stated that, according to tax data, Mijajlović has recorded earnings from companies in which he has a stake: "Monte Media", "Alec Montenegro" and "Easy Drive".
The SDT requested that, as part of the financial investigation, the disposal of the apartment that Mijajlović gifted to his daughter, which he purchased in November 2011 for 155 thousand euros, be prohibited, the NGO added.
"The analysis of the balance and movement of funds in accounts opened with commercial banks in Montenegro and the documentation obtained from the Tax Administration in relation to Aleksandar Mijajlović as a natural person, unequivocally concludes that he did not have legal income to the extent that he would have been able to, taking into account living expenses, acquire ownership of the specific real estate," the SDT assessed, according to the ASP statement.
According to SDT, ASP adds, by November 23, 2012, when it was contractually obligated to pay the purchase price, an inflow of 36.558 euros was recorded into the account at Hipotekarna banka, which money was transferred from Prva banka on October 09.10.2009, 16.10.2009 and on October XNUMX, XNUMX, transferred to Veljko Lakušić for the purpose of paying "other transfers".
"As he further indicates, the account at the designated bank also recorded several payments by Aleksandar Mijajlović to his own account and the purchase of foreign currency after that, and on November 20.11.2012, 15.000, a payment was made abroad in the amount of XNUMX euros for the legal entity 'Atoll Paradise Limited'."
"The SDT also states that by the end of 2012, a payment of 60.000 euros was recorded on July 12.07.2007, 19.07.2007, into the account of the defendant Aleksandar Mijajlović opened with Prva Banka, and on July 59.100, XNUMX, a cash payment of XNUMX euros was recorded, and the funds paid on both occasions were redirected to a legal entity," the ASP statement reads.
"The analysis of the account opened with Addiko Bank concludes that there are no significant transactions on it, and in the period from 2007 to 2009 there was no turnover on that account. The accounts of the defendant Aleksandar Mijajlović at Universal Capital Bank have been opened, that is, payments have been recorded, on the foreign account since 2015, and on the current account since 2022. As for the account with Crnogorska komercijalna banka, the defendant has two accounts from 2016 and 2023 and one account for foreign payments," the SDT indicates, according to a statement from the NGO.
However, the court, they add, did not accept this argument and rejected the proposal to issue a temporary restraining order against the disposal of the apartment owned by his daughter, considering that "the time of acquisition of the property by Mijajlović at least eight years before the beginning of the aforementioned period of criminal activity (2019 to 2021) makes it difficult to establish a direct link between the acquisition of the property and the alleged criminal activities."
"Accepting a provisional measure for property acquired several years before the stated date of the criminal offense could violate the principle of legal certainty and question legitimately acquired property rights. This is especially true if we consider that the analysis of Aleksandar Mijajlović's income provided in the proposal begins with the year the property was acquired, and not for earlier years, so that the court could gain insight into that income," the Podgorica High Court stated.
Mijajlović was arrested in February 2024, when an order was issued to initiate an investigation, and in mid-April of the same year, the Podgorica High Court accepted a bail of 1,1 million euros to defend himself from the SDT charges while at liberty. An indictment has not yet been filed in this case, the ASP reminds.
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